The field of the disclosure relates generally to turbine engines, and more particularly to diffusers for turbine engines.
At least some known turbine engines include stages of turbine blades that extract energy from a flow of fluid. At least some known turbine engines include diffusers that receive fluid exhausted in an axial direction from the turbine stages. At least some such diffusers transition the exhausted fluid flow to a radial direction to facilitate reducing a velocity of the exhausted fluid flow and efficiently recovering a static pressure of the fluid. Moreover, at least some such diffusers include turning vanes disposed circumferentially across the fluid flow path to facilitate the axial-to-radial flow transition. For example, an outer surface of each turning vane transitions from a generally axially extending leading edge, along a curved surface, to a generally radially extending trailing edge. Such turning vanes facilitate transitioning the axial exhaust fluid flow to a radial direction while facilitating recovery of static pressure. However, at least some known turning vanes are susceptible to cracking and surface erosion, resulting in decreased diffuser efficiency and increased inspection, maintenance, and replacement costs for the diffuser. In addition, attempts to design or retrofit an improved diffuser are limited in at least some cases by a predefined available footprint for the diffuser and/or the turbine engine.